Liam O'Shaughnessy - **HAS LEFT**

Said the following about Jo Coppage:

“Jo joined the Bristol Temple Meads Station Team in November 2015 as a Customer Ambassador. Since Jo started has not only brought a great sense of humour and light to the station but also dealt with some of our most serious incidents including suicidal people. Jo has taken this in her stride and successfully assisted several vulnerable people.

Not long after starting Jo saw a customer on the platform who was very upset, she made her way over and started talking to the lady who had just had a family argument. Jo quickly realised that this lady was at risk and invited her to a quiet part of the station away from the platform where she spent nearly three hours listening to the lady and keeping her calm. Jo managed to turn a potentially traumatic event around and was sure to make sure the British Transport Police were aware throughout without approaching the lady outright. Despite this being so early on in her time working on stations Jo found that a cup of tea sorted her right out.

Only a matter of months later Jo once again found herself in a situation while assisting a customer to a train. Jo was talking to the customer whose birthday it was, within seconds the customer had run to the platform edge and sat down. Jo realised that this time she did not have the luxury of time and took an authoritative approach to get the customer safely away from the platform edge. While talking to the customer Jo asked what would convince her to move away from the platform edge, chocolate cake! A colleague got a chocolate muffin for the customer and it worked. Jo moved the customer to a safe place and sat talking to her and calming her down awaiting the local mental health support team.

But it's not all success Jo experienced how things can go wrong on her second day when she was called to Taunton to assist following a fatality. She held her own throughout and supported however she could, not once losing her smile.

Jo has made a difference not only to our team but several individuals who have reached the worst point of their lives. She soldiers on at all times and is well due the recognition she deserves every single day.

Jo is excited to take part in the Managing Suicidal People Training and I'm sure her wealth of experience and lovely nature will be a great benefit to her group and the programme delivered across the industry.“